This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To order presentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distribution to colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire about permissions/licensing, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com

OTTAWA—The Toronto Argonauts’ offence smacked the Ottawa Redblacks squarely in the mouth early Saturday night and the momentum carried them to a 35-26 victory.

“It was just about getting a good taste in your mouth and feeling good about the game plan,” head coach Scott Milanovich said.

The Argos turned passive in the second half, however, as Ottawa’s Henry Burris hit Greg Ellingson for two touchdown passes in a comeback that fell just a little bit short.

The victory stopped a three-game Argos losing skid and moved into a tie with Ottawa at 7-5, second in the CFL’s East Division. Hamilton, on the bye week, is first at 8-4.

“That was a good win,” Milanovich said. “I told (the players) that for the first time since really Week 1, that was a three-phased team win (offence, defence and special teams). Obviously we needed that.”

Article Continued Below

Milanovich said the whole team felt a sense of urgency before this game.

“I saw it in the locker room before the game. You could tell at the walkthrough this morning. Our guys understood it was time for us to show up.”

Toronto and Ottawa face each other again here Oct. 6 in a “home” game for Toronto that was made necessary by a conflict with the Blue Jays. The Argos have already won the season series, including a 30-24 decision over the Redblacks last month.

Toronto’s Trevor Harris threw for 282 yards Saturday, including two touchdowns, but he also gave Ottawa life by throwing two interceptions, one of which went for a touchdown and the other which led to three points.

Harris has been struggling of late and has thrown an interception in five straight games for a total of seven picks. In his first seven games, he threw only four picks.

The Argos put the game away with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter after Tori Gurley made a great sideline catch down to the one yard-line. Backup quarterback Adrian McPherson took it into the end zone from there, and Justin Palardy added a 50-yard field goal to close out the scoring. The Redblacks’ last gasp ended when Greg Jones picked off Burris with a little more than two minutes left.

Palardy joined the Argos this week from Truro, N.S., as a replacement for the injured Swayze Waters, and only had one practice. The other Palardy summoned last week — Michael, no relation — handled the kickoffs and punting, and he fared well too. He averaged 48 yards on six punts.

Early on, 33-year-old Chad Owens looked like the Flying Hawaiian of old, taking a punt back 87 yards for a touchdown as the Argonauts jumped out to a 24-10 first half lead.

Kevin Elliott was the key receiving threat all game, catching two touchdown passes, while Tori Gurley had a team-high 73 yards on four catches. Diontae Spencer, starting in place of Vidal Hazelton — he was benched by Milanovich for on-field misconduct penalties — finished with four catches for 62 yards, including a spectacular leaping grab near the sidelines in the first half.

Chris Williams broke loose for Ottawa with six catches for a game-high 101 yards as Burris (27-of-38) threw for 313 yards.

More from the Toronto Star & Partners

LOADING

Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or distribution of this content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. To order copies of Toronto Star articles, please go to: www.TorontoStarReprints.com